The Perfect World
by SarahShalomDavid
Summary: The Detective wrapped her arms around Maura and tugged her back to lay against her before pressing a kiss to the side of her head, "I love you so much", she said softly with pure love and adoration in her voice. "I love you too", Maura said with a bright smile, her hazel eyes shining in the sunlight, she turned and pressed a kiss to Jane's lips lightly. Reality vs. Dream.
1. Perfect World?

_It was late summer, the sun was shining high in the sky and not a singular cloud was in sight. The temperatures were at a high, Boston was suffering a heat wave which people seemed to be quite enjoying. It was a Saturday so neither Maura or Jane had to work that day._

 _Jane was sat on a lounger chair on the patio beside the built in swimming pool, the grass surrounding the garden was freshly cut and there was a swing set, climbing frame and even a tree house in the garden._

 _The Detective wrapped her arms around Maura and tugged her back to lay against her before pressing a kiss to the side of her head, "I love you so much", she said softly with pure love and adoration in her voice._

 _"I love you too", Maura said with a bright smile, her hazel eyes shining in the sunlight, she turned and pressed a kiss to Jane's lips lightly before turning back to watch their children play._

 _Two year old Leona was playing on the grass with a mix of dolls along with her 13 year old sister; Faith. Inside the swimming pool, splashing enthusiastically were their other two children; Grace who was 9 and Emery who was 11._

 _The two women laced their hands together happily, Jane smiled brightly as she watched the children._

 _Maura began to move, she didn't let go of Jane's hand but stood up. Jane looked at her confused, "Where are you going?", she asked softly._

"I'm going to get some food and drink for the girls and I", Maura said softly, her hand on Jane's cheek with the other holding the woman's hand.

" _What do you mean?", she asked confused, "We've just had lunch, how can you be hungry already?". They had a picnic for lunch in the park and hadn't long gotten back, Jo Friday was fast asleep in the shade after being worn out by playing chase with the girls._

"When I get back I expect you to wake up okay?", the Medical Examiner said with a sigh, "We need you to wake up".

" _Maur', you aren't making any sense", Jane said in frustration._

"I'll be back soon", she said softly, "The girls will stay here with you".

 _Jane was confused and she was getting incredibly frustrated, "Maur', what an earth are you talking about?"._

 _Suddenly the hand holding hers began to pull away and she reached out but Maura took a step back. "Maur'", she called out, "Maur'!". The woman began to fade as she walked backwards, the sound of heels on the patio faded out and she was gone._

 _The woman looked confused at the children._

Leona had been adopted by Maura two years ago when her mother died in childbirth. Grace, Emery and Faith had been born during the time that Jane had been married to Casey, they had divorced whilst she was pregnant with her third child, not that she knew at the time.

"You've got to wake up Mamma", Grace said nudging her mother slightly.

" _I am awake sweetheart", Jane replied_

"Wake up", Faith said with desperation

"Please wake-up", Emery said taking her mother's hand

Leona was sat on the bed, "Wake up".

" _I am awake", Jane said with frustration, "Why does everyone keep telling me to wake up?"._

 **A/N - Just an intro chapter so if you want me to continue then drop me a review… don't worry guys, I haven't forgotten about my other R &I stories 'Jane's Girl', 'Saving Maura' or 'Only Hers'. It has been a tad hectic here and I've been reading more than I've been writing … .whoops? **


	2. 14 Years Previously

**Fourteen years previously…**

Maura near the doorway to her Beacon Hill home, she was wearing her yoga pants and tank top whilst her hair was up in a rough ponytail and her feet were bare.

They had been having so much fun.

 _Jane laughed softly as she pushed Maura ever so lightly over in the yoga room before returning to her position in order to pretend it wasn't her despite the fact that they were the only two in the entire house._

The entire weekend it had just been them, well them and the tiny baby growing in the depths of Jane's womb.

 _Both women were curled on the sofa, Jane was leaning back with Maura leaning up against her side and the Doctor's arms wrapped around the small bump of the Detective's abdomen. They were comfortable and happy together as they watched the documentary that Maura had put on._

Nothing interfered with their weekend, it had started out as a meal and sleepover but then it had gradually extended to the entire weekend, before they knew it sunday morning had come.

 _Jane was hesitant to tell her. She knew she had to but in reality she simply didn't want to. She looked at the honey blonde woman who lay on the picnic blanket beside her in the garden, beneath the Boston sunshine and sighed heavily._

" _Maur?", she said softly as she perched herself up to rest her head on her left hand, her elbow bent as she looked down at the beautiful woman laying on her back._

 _The woman looked up at the brunette and felt her breathing hitch as she watched the Italian's face. Her eyes roamed quickly over Jane's face and briefly her body before she smiled softly. The other woman was so close that she could almost feel the Detective's breath on her skin. Almost. She couldn't help but imagine them both in a different setting in the positions that they were laying in during that moment. Maura wanted so desperately to tell her she loved her, she wanted to be with her and couldn't see herself with anyone else but she couldn't. Her friend was straight and she had already decided that it would be better to have her as a friend rather than nothing at all._

 _Then the doorbell rang._

 _Jane didn't have a chance to tell her. The dark haired Italian woman reached out to take hold of Maura's arm in an attempt to pull her back onto the blanket when the Medical Examiner got up from the floor but Maura simply smiled, "I'll be back in a moment", she said softly to her with a smile, "You won't even know I've gone"._

 _Maura left the garden to go into the back door of the house as Jane whispered, "I'll always know". Jane loved Maura. Jane loved Maura more than she ever thought it was possible to love another being but she thought that the honey blonde woman was straight as Maura hadn't dated any other woman during the years they knew each other, however the fact was that Maura chose not to date other women because the few dates she had been on during the early stages of their friendship had not compared to the platonic 'dates' they had. She knew back then that she loved Jane._

 _At the front door, Casey was stood there with a huge and cocky grin on his face, "I'm here to pick Jane up", he stated, taking pride in the heartbreak in the depths of the woman's eyes._

 _Every word failed the highly intelligent, highly educated woman in that moment and she could only nod at him. She was hoping she was wrong and that Jane hadn't changed her mind about going with him. She hoped that the engagement to the military man was still called off. She hoped that she was still allowed to raise the infant with Jane. She hoped. She hoped because hope was all that she had in that moment._

 _Maura turned from him, "I'll get her for you", she stated quietly, closing the door. He had went to step forward as if coming in and was surprised when the door was shut on him. She usually opened the door for people and welcomed them in but this was Casey, this was the man who was a threat to her relationship with Jane and had the power to take her away. He was the man who had insisted Jane leave with him. That fact alone scared Maura, no not scared but terrified her. The thought was what formed nightmares in her head as soon as she tried to sleep, that was when she could sleep because those were the same thoughts that kept her up at night. She tried so many things to help her sleep. She tried meditating. She tried yoga. She tried various teas. She even tried lavender sprays and oils. None of those things helped. One thing did though. One thing was always the cure for her lack of sleep. One thing worked every time. Or should I say one person? Sleeping with Jane beside her. It didn't matter where they were but with the dark haired Detective beside her, the world simply seemed to much better. When Jane was gone she felt like her heart was too._

 _Jane was leaning back on her elbows as she looked towards the door, a smile attempted to burst out onto her face at the sight of the Doctor but it froze part way when she realised what she had to tell Maura, "Maur'?", she said softly, "Come back and lay with me". Her voice was soft a she spoke to the woman._

 _Maura looked at her, so tempted to lay down with her and ignore the idiot at her door but she couldn't because she knew that the man would knock again and questions would be asked as a result. It looked so inviting, Jane's hand reaching out to her as she lay on the blanket. The Chief Medical Examiner glanced back towards the door and bit her lip, momentarily closing her eyes and looking down as she felt a stabbing pain surge through her heart._

" _Please?", Jane said softly, "I...I need to tell you something". Her voice was more timid than her usual confident manner. She didn't care who was at the door but she needed Maura to come back to her so she could tell her what she didn't want to tell her._

" _You're leaving, aren't you?", Maura said as she fought the tears as she looked at Jane._

 _Jane sat up, "I…", she paused and nodded as she looked at the other woman, "How did you…?"._

 _Maura looked away from Jane's face, in an attempt not to cry, she was struggling to hold it back and she knew that in any moment she would be a crumpled mess on the floor, "He's outside waiting for you", she said simply._

" _What?", Jane said, "He's early". As she spoke, she looked over at the outdoor clock that was on the wall of Maura's home and froze, "I'm so sorry Maur', I didn't realise the time", she said standing up and moving towards the house, "I was supposed to tell you Friday but…I just couldn't do it and by the time I got the courage to tell you…"._

" _I had fallen asleep", Maura finished for her, remembering falling asleep with her head on Jane's chest, the sound of the woman's heartbeat reminding her that she was there and she was safe. She briefly closed her eyes remembering the feeling of the other woman's arms wrapped around her and she sighed slightly before opening them again._

" _Yeah", she said softly, "I decided then that I would tell you yesterday but I couldn't and then I decided I would do it this morning before he got here but…". She had tears in her eyes as she spoke, Maura couldn't look up from the floor, her chest felt tight and her eyes were burning from the strain of holding back a cascade of salty tears, "Every time I tried, I would look at you and I just couldn't do it"._

 _She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to ask 'Isn't that a sign?'. She wanted to question the woman and ask her why she planned on leaving in the first place. She wanted to ask her 'what about me?'. She wanted to remind her that she had promised to help raise the baby with Jane. She wanted to remind Jane of every single happy moment that they had shared. She wanted to tell her that Casey could never love her like she herself loved Jane. She wanted to tell her that Jane was it for her. She wanted to tell her that Jane would always have her heart. She wanted to beg her not to leave. She wanted to plead with her to stay. She wanted to do many things in that moment but then it hit her. 'She's leaving me because I'm not worth it' was the thought that went through Maura's mind like a speeding bullet, tearing apart the hopes and dreams of anything that she could possibly say._

 _Before she knew it, Jane was standing in front of her. The door banged again as the now impatient man knocked once more. "I better go", she said softly._

" _Will I ever see you again?", Maura asked as Jane wrapped her in the safety and security of her arms._

 _The door sounded again and Jane pulled back with a groan, "I'm coming", she groaned as she stormed towards the door, "Calm it!". She flung open the doors and Casey grinned._

 _Maura wasn't one to normally hate other people but when it came to Casey Janes that concept flew out the window because she not only hated him but truly detested him._

She had watched the woman she loved leave after a goodbye that felt too brief and as the car left the driveway, the rain began to fall heavily from the sky. It seemed fitting for the mood that she was in. Despite it being medically impossible, it felt as if her heart was shattering into a million pieces and as if the goodbye itself was strangling her, cutting off her airways.

The sky was dark and lights began to flicker on in the guest house but Maura simply fell to the ground in a heap. The sounds of her sobs and cries were barely audible over the loud hammering of the rain around her. Her clothing was quickly soaked through and her hair dripping wet. She didn't care though. She didn't care that it was raining. She just wanted Jane to come back. She had just watched that moronic ape drive away with the woman she fell deeply in love with. The woman who held her heart. The only person who had the power to truly break her and that is exactly what she had done despite her not meaning to.

 **A/N:**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows. Apologies for the delay in updating (and that goes for every story…I have had a case of writer's block well actually that isn't fully true because it's mostly been too many ideas hitting me at once and it turning into a scrambled mess inside my head so I haven't been able to write it out to make sense).**

 **Thank you to those defending the name choices. The names will not be changed.**


	3. Cannolis and Parsnips

_There was a small slither of light flowing into the bedroom from the streetlights outside of the house. It was peaceful inside, so peaceful that even Bass and Jo were fast asleep._

 _Maura was lying asleep in the bed, she was on her front with her right leg hooked over Jane's left whilst her arm went over the other woman's waist and her body was partially on top of the Detective's._

 _Jane, however, was the only one awake. Wide. Awake. She was lying on her back, holding Maura close to her by keeping her arms securely wrapped around the honey blonde woman. She took pleasure in holding the other woman close to her and she felt at peace with the woman safely wrapped in her embrace._

" _I love you Maur', I love you so much", the Italian woman whispered to the slumbering one._

 _She sighed to herself as she glanced over at the engagement ring that she had taken off and put onto the bedside cabinet, she had removed it when it got caught on Maura's hair when they hugged but she had completely missed how Maura looked much happier when the ring was missing from her finger. "When I told you about his proposal I was hoping… praying even that you would tell me not to", Jane admitted with sadness flowing from her heart, "but you didn't". She pressed a kiss to the top of her friend's head, "You congratulated me, you were happy for me…", she said quietly, "That's why I have to go, I wish I didn't have to but if I stay here… it will just… hurt because one day you're going to get married to someone that isn't me and unlike you… unlike you, I won't be able to be happy for you because you are my heart"._

 _Maura mumbled in her sleep and moved even closer to her, tilting her head upwards slightly and nuzzling her face into her neck, effectively hiding her face in a mass of dark curls._

 _When she was sure that the other woman was fast asleep, she continued, despite acknowledging that she was too scared to say all of what she was saying when Maura was awake to hear and respond. "Tomorrow… tomorrow I'm going to tell you that I'm... leaving", Jane whispered with salty tears running down her cheeks, "I had a dream last night where we were at the precinct and I told you that I was leaving but then it became one of the best dreams that I have ever had. I dreamt that… that you… that you told me that I couldn't leave…". Jane stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before she continued, "You told me you loved me, and that always makes my dreams the best. Even more when you kiss me", she said the last part with a slight smirk on her face but with sadness in her eyes._

 _Jane was tired, she had barely slept in days but she could not bear to close her eyes as she wanted to continue to hold and to watch the woman that she had fallen in love with, she wanted to remember the warmth she felt in her heart at holding her close, she wanted to remember the feeling of Maura's body pressed to hers, and she wanted to imagine… to imagine what it would be like if Maura Isles was to love her back in the same way that she loved her._

 _Eventually, she gave in to the pull of sleep, the world went dark and she slipped into her imagination where she not only got to hold the woman in her arms as she slept but got to tell her the truth of her love, she got to kiss her softly and to make love to her._

 _Maura would wake the following morning with no knowledge of the confessions the previous night._

 _Jane would awake and her world would change. She thought that she was going because she would be loved there… in a way that she did not think she was in Boston. She wanted to try to forget the pain of loving someone who would not love her in return._

 _She was wrong._

Leona was sat on the bed beside Jane's hip and leaning forward to speak to Jane, "Wake up sleepyhead", she said without a response.

Faith, Grace, and Emery watched the two-year-old child as they too sat perched on their mother's hospital bed. Faith reached out and ran her hand up and down the little one's back in a comforting manner.

The adopted daughter of Maura Isles leaned over and pressed her nose against Jane in a gentle manner, "Wake up", she repeated, "We have cannolis", she lied.

The three older girls tried not to laugh at the child's technique.

"Cannolis", Leona repeated, "We have cannolis!", she almost yelled as she sat up.

"If she wakes and realises you don't have cannolis then she's going to be really mad", eleven-year-old Emery joked.

Grace shrugged, "At least she'll be awake, right?".

"Maybe we can get a cannoli and put it under her nose?", Emery suggested.

"I really wish she would wake up", Emery said with a sigh, "I miss her".

"Come on Ma", Faith said as she reached up to cup her mother's cheek, "You have to wake up soon, we need you".

"Yeah Ma", Leona said with one of her bright smiles, "We need you". "Ma", the child repeated, "Ma? Ma? Ma?".

Grace smiled, "You want her to be your Ma too?".

Leona nodded, "I'll share mine too".

"Awesome", Grace replied with a grin.

"You hear that Ma?", Faith said with a smile as she leaned over to speak to Jane, "I think you've just been married off to Maura".

"Mommy", Leona corrected her.

"Sorry Leona", Faith said quickly before turning back to her mother, "I mean married off to Mommy", the young girl was clearly amused. " _But then again… maybe that's exactly what you need",_ the teen thought to herself as she looked at her mother and then at the empty ring finger of the hand that lay limp on the crisp sheets of the hospital bed.

It was not long before Maura returned to the hospital room with a few bags of food for the children, "I have your dinner", the woman announced as she entered and placed the brown bags of food on the wooden table before looking at Jane with a sigh, "No sign then, huh?".

The children shook their heads, "No", Faith said softly, "Nothing".

"We told her to wake up", nine-year-old Grace pointed out with a slight pout on her face, "Why won't she listen?".

"She is trying Grace", Maura responded gently as she leaned down to put her hands on the sides of the child's face, "I promise you that your Ma is trying her very hardest to wake up and come back to us". She glanced up the bed towards the face of the dark-haired woman and briefly closed her eyes before returning her attention to Grace, "We just need to keep talking to her and keep reminding her that we love her so that we can help her wake up", she said gently, "Remember what I told you? Studies show that people in comas can hear what you're saying so that's why we have to talk to her and tell her all about our days and what we've been doing".

Grace sighed and nodded with her hands on top of Maura's, "Could you read another story after dinner?", she asked despite knowing that the answer would be yes because that was what they did every night. It was their 'bedtime' routine.

The honey blonde woman nodded with tear-filled eyes, "Of course", she said with a sad smile,"Well, here is your dinner", she said in a gentle voice, she did not bother to request that they get off of Jane's bed because she knew from previous occasions that it would be pointless and only result in arguments as well as tears from the children.

She handed the dinners out to the children, the food was inside take-out containers that she had ordered previously from the cafeteria so that she would be as quick as possible when collecting the food and she had arranged for one of the nurses to keep an eye on the children, not that the children were aware as she remained outside of the room but close by as the nursing desk was very close by so should they need anything she was there to help and they knew to press the call button if they needed to.

They were eating their dinner peacefully, Maura had been letting them have take-outs that were not all healthy, although today they all had what the hospital classified as a 'roast dinner' - it was acceptable but nothing like the dinners that she usually had on a Sunday with Jane's family, family that years ago had also become her family.

Maura looked over at Jane with a slightly tilted head, she loved the woman more than words could say and she regretted not telling her previously, why had she waited so long? why couldn't she have asked her to stay all those years ago? Why couldn't she just tell her then? Why wait till it was too late?

Her focus moved to the children who were on top of the hospital bed. Faith and Emery were sat at the bottom, either side of Jane's feet whilst they leaned up against the foot of the bed. Grace was sat in front of Emery on the left side of the bed with her legs crossed and her right leg slightly leaning up against Jane's, she took comfort in the small bit of physical connection that she was having with her mother in that moment although she did wish that it was a hug instead. Leona was sat in front of Faith, although further up the bed as she was sat beside Jane's hip, not close enough to her wound to cause any harm. Her wound was on the lower left side of her abdomen.

Leona leaned forward, whispering to Jane, although her whispers at the age of two were not exactly what could be described as true whispering but instead more of a moderately hushed tone of voice, "Ma, you have to wake up. You gotta eat my pars'ips before Mommy sees".

Maura smiled as she ate her food, pretending not to hear her child as she knew already that Jane would eat the parsnips from Leona's plate but give the little girl her carrots instead.

 _The family were sat at the dining room table, it was the first Rizzoli Sunday dinner since the return of Jane and her children to Boston._

 _Leona had insisted upon sitting beside 'her Jane' at the table, so she was sat in her booster seat at the table beside the woman._

 _Moments into the meal Leona leaned towards Jane, "I don't 'ike par'sips", she said as if they were the evilest of all things in the world._

 _Jane smiled, leaning into her, she whispered, "Want me to get rid of them for you?", she asked as she glanced around the table before back at the child._

 _Leona nodded, "P'ease", she said politely._

" _Okay", Jane agreed, "Close your eyes and I'll make them vanish"._

 _The little girl closed her eyes before covering them, although Jane knew that the child was peeking._

 _Jane quickly switched the child's parsnips with her carrots and then whispered to her that she could open her eyes._

 _Leona whispered her thanks to her 'Auntie Jane' whilst the rest of the table pretended that they did not see nor hear a single thing._

The Doctor also knew, however, that despite switching with Leona, she herself did prefer carrots to parsnips so Maura started giving Leona fewer parsnips and Jane more carrots so that they could continue their 'secret' swap but so that both of them could get the orange root vegetable. She loved how Jane and Leona interacted, she loved to see how Jane played with her and helped take care of her.

 _Leona screeched happily as she held on to Jane's hands, the woman was running around the park with the child on her shoulders and 'chasing' her two youngest daughters._

 _Maura was sat on the picnic blanket beside Faith who was quite happy to be sat reading the new book that Maura had purchased for her the previous day._

 _Jo Friday had been running around the park with the children, however, she was now fast asleep in Maura's lap as the sun shone down upon them all._

Maura momentarily froze, "Leona?", she asked softly, "Leona? Darling? What did you say?".

The little girl looked at her mother before back down at Jane, and then back up again, "I'm not supposed to tell you about the pars'ips, it's a secret", she said although that in itself did give away part of the so-called secret. Thankfully nobody gives state secrets to a two-year-old.

"Not that part", Maura said softly as she moved closer to the bed, "What did you call her?".

Leona tilted her head as she looked at her mother, it was much in the same way that Maura usually did when something confused her.

"She called her 'Ma'", Grace said softly with a smile.

"We've decided to share", Emery added as she looked at Maura.

Leona grinned happily, "Now I have a Mommy **and** a Ma", she said sounding rather proud of the idea, "So does Emmy, and Grays, and Fay".

Doctor Isles had tears in her beautiful hazel eyes as she listened to what the children were telling her, she was sat on the chair beside the bed but it was pulled as close as possible.

"That's okay, right?", Faith asked slightly nervously, "I mean… I know we didn't ask but… we just thought that….".

She quickly realised that the young girl had misunderstood the shining tears that were in her eyes and nodded to her, "Of course Faith", she said softly, "That's more than okay". " _Now I just need_ _my_ _Jane to wake up"_ , her mind whispered.

The Chief Medical Examiner stood up and went to Faith straight away before wrapping the girl in her arms, "I love you", she said happily despite the teary eyes, "All of you". She carefully leaned over to hug each of the four children individually whilst being cautious of the sleeping woman in the bed.

Maura was listed as the emergency contact for Jane but also as nominated guardian for the children. She loved the children but she wanted her Jane back with them. She had dreamed so many times of what it would be like to be with Jane, to raise a family with her, and to simply be _loved_ by her.

Later that evening, the children were curled up on the bed with Maura beside the hospital bed, her hand was holding on to Jane's as it usually was when she was in the hospital room.

Leona was curled up next to Jane, the closest to her head as she had opted to lay with her head on Jane's chest although she was on the woman's right side so that she would not harm her 'Ma'.

The children had crammed themselves on the bed lying down with the rails up at the sides to help them stay on the bed, the bed was big enough as they were in a private ward and the woman lying in the bed was slim enough that there was enough room for them to lay with her which was something that seemed to make them much happier and calmer.

"Are you ready for the story?", Maura asked as she picked up the fairytale book that was sat on the bedside table.

Each of the children nodded, the youngest more enthusiastic about the stories than the eldest although that was mostly visually as they were all rather keen on the time that was spent with the book.

They did, however, wish that Jane was awake with them because they were always highly amused by the woman's voices and actions that she put with the stories as well as how she altered them to fit something new.

Maura got comfortable before she began, and she read calmly as the children listened, "Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess".

"Why does it have to be a prince?", Grace questioned.

"It's just the way that the story is written Grace, most fairytale stories have a prince and a princess in them", Maura said softly.

"No prince", Leona stated with a shake of her head as she sat up slightly, "We have two princesses", she said as she held up two fingers on her tiny little hand.

"Is that what you would all prefer?", the honey blonde woman questioned.

The decision was unanimous and it was voted that there would not be a prince in this story, or at least not this time around. "Ma always changes the stories", Emery pointed out.

Maura nodded with a smile, "Yes, she does, doesn't she?", she said softly.

"I liked the one about Snow White, Prince Charming, and their daughter; Emma", Emery revealed with a smile, "I think that one is the best".

"No, the one with Belle learning karate is the best", Grace countered.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo", Leona said in an almost whine, "Evil Q'een is the best, with the g'owing hearts".

Maura simply laughed and shook her head, "Okay, we will agree that all of your mother's fairy tale twists are the best", she said to attempt to prevent an argument over fairy tales whilst Faith looked rather amused at their 'debate'.

The children settled back down, which for Leona meant placing her head back on Jane's chest and listening to the woman's calming heartbeat even though she could hear it through the beeps of the machine, but the machine just was not the same as the real thing.

"Once upon a time there was a princess who wanted to marry a princess, but she would have to be a real princess. She travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could she get what she wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So she came home again and was sad, for she would have liked very much to have a real princess", Maura read whilst internally wondering how confusing this story might sound without clear signs as to which princess they were talking about each time, however, she continued simply replacing the male pronouns for female ones as that was what her audience had demanded of her.

"One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it", the honey blonde read, "It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess".

The youngest child had her thumb in her mouth as she snuggled into Jane. Faith leaned over and took hold of her mother's hand tugging Jane's arm so that it went around Leona which meant that whilst Faith held her hand, Jane was effectively hugging Leona.

"Well, we'll soon find that out, thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bedroom, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses", Maura continued as she watched the interactions between the children that were in front of her.

Leona looked like she was almost asleep, and both Grace and Emery appeared to be getting tired too.

"On this, the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept. 'Oh, very badly!' said she. 'I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!'", she read out loud to the children, "Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds".

Grace yawned as she leaned into her sister and listened to the story that Maura was telling them.

"Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that. So the princess took her for her wife, for now, she knew that she had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen if no one has stolen it", Maura finished before closing the book.

"I hope Ma doesn't have peas in her bed", a sleepy Grace mumbled, "Or she'll be really cranky when she wakes up".

"I can promise you that your mother does not have any peas in her bed", Maura replied with a smile, "Although she apparently has a parsnip in there", she said as she picked up a small parsnip from where her daughter was asleep.

"She was probably leaving it for Ma to eat later", Faith said with amusement.

"Probably", Maura replied gently as she placed the book back on the side, "Come on then, say goodnight to your Ma and we will go home".

"I hope that Ma comes home with us soon", Faith said as she hugged Maura and buried her face against the woman.

"So do I", Maura whispered softly as she held the child close to her and watched Jane with a loving yet saddened gaze.

 **A/N 1: Apologies for the long delay in updating... well anything! There have been some... issues of which have needed to be dealt with and I am now currently studying my MA degree.**

 **I currently have 6 stories that are incomplete; 'I Understand' (N.C.I.S.), 'Crystal Blue' (N.C.I.S), 'Calleigh's Birthday' (C.S.I.: Miami), 'Rubble and Ashes' (N.C.I.S.), 'Jane's Girl' (Rizzoli and Isles), and 'Saving Maura' (Rizzoli and Isles).**

 **'I Understand' currently has 8 chapters left to write, 'Crystal Blue' has 4, 'Calleigh's Birthday' has 1, 'Rubble and Ashes' also has 1 left, 'Jane's Girl' has 20(!) remaining to write which will officially be my longest story EVER, and 'Saving Maura' has 11 chapters left to write.**

 **Thank you for your patience with my lack of updating and hopefully, I will improve my updating speed now that I have finished my Careers Award, Enterprise Awards, BA degree, TEFL, and a load of other stuff. Writing will, hopefully, give me a break from all of the academic reading and writing that I have to do for my course. I have over 200 story ideas currently written in my book, however, I promise you that I will not be writing any new stories until I have completed the majority of my stories with the aim to finish the shorter ones first (although I will attempt to still update the longer ones when possible too), once they are done then I will (possibly) add in some extra stories in between chapters of 'Jane's Girl'. I may be adding some OUAT stories too as I have just started watching it (I know... I am a little behind in joining in the fabulous fandom ;) ).**

 **Thank you to all those who have reviewed, put this (or me) as their favourite, and followed this story (or me).**

 **'Sweetkid45' - Do you really think that Casey would survive my story? How could I ever end it any other way than with Rizzles?**

 **'Penny Robinette' - I hope this chapter cleared up your confusion, she was with Casey, she was (unfortunately) married to the 'thing' and she was not with Maura...well until the end of course.**

 **'IsaBabisa' - I am glad that you like this story and I hope that this last chapter lives up to your expectations of how it should end.**

 **'Barbie7088' - I can't stand him either. She isn't weak - at least she isn't meant to be - she thinks she is doing the right thing by being with him and she doesn't realise what it's doing to Maura. She didn't know that she was hurting her, if she had then she wouldn't have done it. She would never have gone through with it if she had been aware of the results of her actions.**

 **'Vbbneighbor' - I am very sorry for leaving you in suspense for so long, my apologies. Hopefully, this chapter is the happy ending you were hoping for.**

 **A/N 2: First, I apologise for the first… dreadful chapter three that I threw on screen, I have no idea what I was thinking… I think I may have been too distracted with the group essay assignment and group presentation assignment I have to do.**

 **Janeandmaura05 - Hmm… Doyle style? Maybe in a different story? ; )**

 **Pinklady - I am glad that you have enjoyed it, does this count as a sequel if it's an extended rewrite?**

 **Malexfaith - Thanks for your review!**

 **Xenagabbyrizzles - Thanks for your review, I hope this lives up to expectation!**

 **Totallygayforyou - Thank you for taking the time to review, I hope you like the alterations so far. P.S. I am LOVING the screen name!**

 **Vbbneighbour - Thank you for your review, hope you like the changes.**

 **Survivorqueen - I am loving your image! Lana is FABULOUS! I hope you like the references ; ) Leona loves the QUEEN!**

 **Richie - I am glad! Thanks for taking the time to review!**

 _ **To those reading 'Jane's Girl' please know that I have NOT forgotten you, I will update ASAP - it was even the story I used for my screenwriting classes (an extra, optional unit at uni) which was really interesting.**_

 **I cannot guarantee which order stories will be updated in but I am aiming to have 'Calleigh's Birthday', and 'Perfect World' finished by the end of the month and possible 'Rubble and Ashes' too. I am also aiming to finish 'Crystal Blue' in December. The remaining three stories are a little longer so will take a bit more time. 'Jane's Girl' has TWENTY chapters remaining (will you stay until the end?).**


	4. Pleading

_Maura and Jane were curled up on the sofa together and the children were in bed, even though they were at Jane's new house Leona had gone to bed after the children had declared a sleepover._

 _Leona was now in the same bed as Faith, the young girl was very protective of the two-year-old and rarely ever let her out of her sight when they were together. It was something that amused the two women and always made their hearts soar as they saw the love between all four of the children, granted they did argue between each other on occasion but that is what siblings did._

 _The doorbell rang twice._

 _Jane groaned, "Really?", she complained, "At this time of night?"._

 _Maura sat up, she was slightly confused as to who it could be._

 _The Ex-Detective who was now the Lieutenant got up from her comfortable position on the sofa and moved towards the door._

 _Whoever was at the door banged it impatiently._

 _The dark-haired Italian woman rolled her eyes before she half-yelled out, "I'm coming!"._

 _Maura stood up from the sofa and started to follow the woman, she was nervous and worried about who it might be although she did not at the time why she felt that way, why she felt afraid of the knocking._

 _The moment that Jane opened the door, she regretted it._

 _Casey stood there in a pair of slightly tattered jeans, a t-shirt with a logo on it that Jane did not recognise, and a leather jacket along with a grin on his face._

 _"Go away Casey", were the first words that spilt from Jane's mouth the moment that she realised who it was._

 _Maura felt even more nervous, she wanted nothing more than to grab Jane, pull her backwards, and then slam the door in his face. Well, maybe she wanted to hit him too but she had not decided upon that concept yet._

 _It had been nine years since Jane and Casey had been together and seven years since the divorce had been finalised with help from Maura who had footed the legal bill for Jane. Casey had, however, not given up on his relationship with Jane. On occasion he had attempted to contact her with letters or emails then it had stopped for a while. The rumour was that he had remarried but over the past month his attempts to contact the woman had returned and it was slowly becoming worse. He was threatening to go for custody of their children and saying that if she were to go back to him then he would give her whatever she wanted. She did not want him though, she wanted Maura, her children, and her family to be together in Boston, away from him._

 _"You know that won't happen Jane", Casey highlighted with a sinister grin, "Why won't you return my letters? My calls? My texts? My emails?"._

 _"I don't want anything to do with you Casey", Jane admitted with a shake of her head, "You know that". Her hand was still on the door as she spoke, "I have what I want here so just... please... leave Casey"._

 _Maura was grateful for the fact that Jane had requested that the idiotic male leaves rather than giving him the time of day that he clearly wanted from her._

 _Casey growled at her as he pushed at the door with force, surprising her, "I said no", he spat out angrily._

 _Upstairs the children were wide awake, the girls had grouped together and they were in Jane's bed. They were curled together under the covers with the door closed, they were scared. Leona was burying her face against Faith as the thirteen-year-old girl attempted to sooth the others whilst she herself was also afraid. She pulled out her phone in order to text her uncle Frankie, telling him that their father was at the house and yelling at their mother. They had awoken at the loud banging on the door and when the yelling began the girls became anxious and afraid._

 _Jane stumbled backwards with the sudden force of the door pressing against her in a violent manner._

 _Maura took a step forward to grab hold of Jane and support her, "Casey, you heard her, just leave", she demanded. She appeared calm despite the fact that inside she was terrified. She had never been afraid of the man before, previously she had only hated him for taking the woman away from her that she was so deeply in love with._

 _The furious man stepped forward and reached out his rough hand to grab Jane by her white pyjama top, of which was really just a tank top, yanking her backwards and towards himself violently._

 _Jane let out a loud gasp at the force of being yanked backwards, she had been surprised and had not been expecting the physical reaction. He had only been violent with her once and that was the day that she left him, nine years ago._

 _"Let her go!", Maura yelled out, forgetting in that moment that their children were upstairs in bed._

 _Casey let out an evil laugh that would have been fitting for some sort of villain in a television show or movie, "I don't think so", he said with a smirk as she extracted a gun from the back of his jeans and pressed it quickly against Jane. She could smell the alcohol on him and the scent of the aftershave that she had come to detest, so much so that it made her feel nauseous._

 _Jane looked up at Maura, "Go upstairs Maura", she called out to the other woman, "Go to the kids"._

 _Maura was frozen but knew that she had to do what Jane said, the children would need her and the best thing to do was to call the police once she was up there because she was unable to when she was stood in front of the crazed man but she did not want to leave Jane with him, she wanted to take her with her and protect her. She wanted to protect the woman she loved and she found herself wishing she could switch places with her simply to ensure the safety of Jane._

 _Casey glared at her with a force that made Maura step back, "Don't you dare!", he said as his voice boomed throughout the otherwise silent house, "You aren't going anywhere!"._

 _"Let her go Casey", Jane pleaded, "Let her go to the kids, they'll be scared, they can hear you, Casey, please?"._

 _Her pleas were ignored as he moved his gun and raised it so that it was pointing towards Maura instead, "Let's see how beautiful", he suddenly said in a harsh, almost whisper-like voice that was horror movie worthy, "The woman you love looks when I put a bullet in her pretty little head". He knew. He knew that the reason she wanted him to leave and the reason he wanted Maura to go upstairs was that she loved the other woman. Jane was in love with Maura._

 _The image flashed through her mind and the image alone was terrifying enough. As Jane looked at Maura all she could see was a flash of multiple clips going through her mind like a movie reel, moments and memories of being together over the years._

 _"Maura, I need you to close your eyes", the Italian woman requested in a loving and soft voice._

 _"Why Jane?", she questioned with confusion written all over her face._

 _The sorrow and sadness were reflecting within her eyes, "Trust me?"._

 _Casey smirked, "Good idea", he whispered, "She won't even see it coming"._

 _It took a lot of bravery and faith for her to do it, but Maura closed her eyes as Jane has asked of her despite the fact that Casey's gun remained pointing towards her._

 _Jane turned her face towards Casey, looking into his eyes, distracting him for a moment, "Casey...", she whispered in a loving but fake voice, "I..."._

 _He foolishly thought that she would say something positive to him, to say something like she loved him or had changed her mind or would consider changing her mind to save the honey blonde._

 _That wasn't what she did._

 _Whilst he was distracted and whilst Maura's eyes were closed, she reached out with her left hand and grabbed hold of his. She grabbed hold of the hand that was holding the gun and she managed to direct the gun towards herself as he fired it. The bullet pierced through the lower left quadrant of her abdomen and then travelled into his. The trajectory of the bullet meant the gun would travel up through his body. It hit the bottom of his left lung, piercing through it._

 _The sound of the gun firing echoed through the house, it all happened so quickly. Maura ran towards Jane and pulled her away from the man that had caused the event. The sound of sirens reached their ears and soon the sight of blue flashing lights were coming from the doorway that had been left open to the night when Casey had stormed into the house._

 _Maura was sat on the floor, cradling the weakening body of the woman she loved as red seeped from her body. The Chief Medical Examiner pressed her hand down to the wound and attempted to stop the bleeding but doing it alone was difficult._

 _Lieutenant Rizzoli reached up with her hand and cupped Maura's cheek, "I love you", she whispered in pain._

 _"I love you too Jane", Dr Isles admitted, "I love you too". Tears were streaming down her face as Jane closed her eyes, "Don't leave me, please don't leave me", she was begging for her not to die despite knowing that the woman would have no control over that._

 _At the top of the stairs were the children, Faith cradled Leona to her as she held her close whilst the three eldest looked on with fear on their faces and tears in their eyes. Their mother was on the floor with the area surrounding her gradually covered with the woman's blood. They could only stand and stare, they were shocked and afraid._

 _The children watched on as Maura cried out for Jane as she desperately attempted CPR on the woman._

 _Everything soon became a blur, there was so much movement as the police arrived followed by the medics._

 _As Frankie stepped into the house he dropped down to try and help Maura but within moments he found himself looking up at the sound of crying. His nieces were watching. He had no choice but to leave his sister's side, letting others help in order for him to go to the four girls at the top of the stairs. He knew Jane would want him to. He knew it was what he needed to do. They needed him._

Maura was laying on Jane's bed, on the side opposite to Jane's wound and with her arm around the sleeping woman. She had her head buried into Jane's neck, hidden by her mass of dark curls. "I love you", she sobbed broken-heartedly, "I love you so much". "I need you to wake up Jane", she said softly, "I need you, we need you". The three older children were at school whilst Leona was with Angela.

Tears streamed down Maura's face as she begged Jane to wake up.

She was met with the same silence as she had been met with every day for the past 18 days.

A silence that tortured her each and every single day.

A silence that reminded her that Jane had not awoken.

A silence that told her that she was alone.

Yet she continued to beg, to plead, to pray, to dream, and to hope that one day her one true love would return to her. Until then she spent every moment possible in the hospital room with Jane. She had taken annual leave, quite often she would take Leona in with her - the little girl would play with her toys on the floor of the hospital room, or watch television on the laptop, or 'read' Jane stories. Quite often, however, the child went to playgroups with Angela.

In the evening, she would bring the children to the room and they would eat their dinner, have a bedtime story, and then return home to go to sleep - although a few times they had slept at the hospital when the hospital staff brought them a pull out that the children all crashed on.

"Please Jane", Maura whispered as she sat up slightly to look at Jane's face as she cupped it with her hand gently, "Please Jane, wake up for me? Let me see those beautiful eyes of yours". Tears streamed even more, like an endless river, "I love you".

Jane's response went unheard and silence filled the room.

 **A/N: The next chapter will be the last of this story then I will work on Chapter 41 of Jane's Girl!**

 **Thank you for the reviews!**


	5. Sleeping Beauty

_Maura was sat in a small private waiting room of the hospital, she was still wearing the clothes she had on whilst she had been curled up with Jane watching television an hour previously. Now Jane was fighting for her life in an operating theatre and she was sat alone in the private room waiting…. Waiting for Jane to come out of theatre and be back at her side… waiting for the arrival of the Rizzoli family… and waiting to find out if the love of her life was even alive._

 _It was not long before the hurricane known as Angela Rizzoli swept into the room in a hurry. She froze at the sight of the honey blonde woman who was sat on the sofa inside the room, she was caked in blood; it was all over her clothing as well as her skin where she had tried desperately to save Jane. Angela was used to seeing the woman bright and fully of life but this version just sat there silently, staring straight ahead of her as if she were not seeing at all, and she was silent. "Go and get her something to wear", she said to Tommy, "Quickly, before the children get here"._

 _Tommy nodded and left the room, moving towards the nurse's desk._

 _Angela cautiously made her way over to Maura's side, the sight of so much blood on Maura made her feel quite nauseous, however, she knew that Maura needed her in that moment and had to suppress that feeling. It was not the sight of the blood that made her heart clench the most, but instead the handprint on the side of Maura's face which appeared to be Jane's._

 _Maura simply continued to stare at the wall ahead of her, not seeing or hearing a thing._

" _Maura", the Italian woman whispered softly, "Maura", she tried again as she reached out and placed a hand on Maura's shoulder._

 _Her face whipped around to look at Angela, seemingly surprised by her presence as she had not known of her arrival. It surprised Maura that she had not even noticed the other woman was there, usually she was fully aware of her surroundings. The moment that she noticed the woman, tears began to stream down her face and she fell forward into Angela's embrace, sobbing and breaking down in her arms._

 _Angela held her close with tears running down her own face as she did her best to comfort Maura, "She's going to be okay Maura", she said gently, "She's a fighter", she was not only trying to convince the sobbing honey blonde in her arms but also herself._

It had been a long day for them all, Jane had still not awoken and it was taking its toll on each of them, especially Maura who was trying to hold it together for the four children. Their family continued to do their best to help support Maura and the children, however, Maura was stubborn and consistently attempted to do everything herself. She wanted to be the one to take care of the children, she wanted to be the one to remain at Jane's side, and she wanted to be the one there when Jane awoke. She desperately wanted to be there for that and she begged her true love every single day to wake up.

Just like every night since Jane had been admitted, the four children were resting on the hospital bed with the sleeping woman whilst Maura was sat in the chair beside the bed with her hand firmly clasping Jane's. She found herself missing the feeling of Jane squeezing her hand back or brushing her thumb over the back of her hand - she found that it was the small things that she missed the most, the things that she vowed to never ever take for granted.

Maura read the story calmly to the children, "Once upon a time there lived a good king and his queen. They had no children for many years and were very sad", her voice carried through the room making the children relax in the bed even more.

As she continued the story, the children listened attentively as they always did when she read to them, "Then one day, the queen gave birth to a lovely baby girl and the whole kingdom was happy. There was a grand celebration and all the fairies in the kingdom were invited. But the king forgot to invite an old fairy. She came to the celebrations but was very angry. Soon it was time to gift the baby with special wishes. The good fairies wished her well and said, "May she grow to be the most beautiful girl in the world! She will sing sweetly and dance so well! She will live happily!" All the fairies blessed the baby and gave her beautiful gifts".

Leona snuggled into Jane a little bit more as she listened, she had taken Jane's hand and wrapped the woman's arm around herself after mumbling that she had to hug her.

 _Jane was lying on Leona's bed with the storybook in front of her, the child had awoken in the night and the Italian woman had been convinced by the child to read a story to her. She had her arm wrapped around the two-year-old holding her close as she read the fairytale story although going a little off script by adding in things that she thought would make it more fun. It was not long, however, before the child had fallen asleep and she was followed shortly by Jane._

 _An hour later Maura wondered what was taking Jane so long, she went up to the child's bedroom and could not help but smile at the sight of the dark haired woman sprawled out on the bed with her leg hanging off the side of the bed and her daughter spread across her._

"When it was the old fairy's turn, she said, "When the baby is sixteen she will touch a spindle, and die!" The king and queen were shocked and begged the fairy to forgive them and take her words back but the fairy refused to do so. When the other fairies saw the king and queen crying, they said, "We cannot undo what the old fairy has spoken. But we certainly can make it different. Your child shall not die when she touches the spindle. But she will fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years. Then, a prince will come along and wake her up." Hearing this, the king and the queen were relieved. The king forbade everyone from spinning so that the princess would never touch a spindle", Maura read the story out loud to the children, occasionally looking up at them, she truly did love each and every one of the people on that bed and she had come to realise that her entire world was currently laying on that bed although she did wish that they were all laying on her bed instead. Far away from the hospital and preferably uninjured.

Faith smiled brightly at the woman, if anyone asked her then she would claim that she was 'too old' for fairytales but in reality she loved them and the hope they portrayed but she also just loved to listen to her mother read as well as Maura. Throughout the ordeal of her mother being in a coma she had come to find Maura's voice the most soothing of sounds possible. The comfort and love the woman offered was exactly what she needed, exactly what all of the children needed.

"A hundred years passed. There came a prince from a far off land. He, along with his servants, went deep into the forest and crossed many rivers. Once the prince lost his way and was separated from the rest of the travellers. He came to the sleeping kingdom and was amazed. The guards, the servants, the cats and the cows were all fast asleep and snoring", she read before glancing over at her own beauty.

"This one is a bit like Maleficent isn't it?", Grace said with a smile.

Leona smiled, "I like Maleficent", she said happily.

Maura smiled, nodding at Grace before continuing, "he prince reached the palace and entered it. No one moved. The prince then found the sleeping princess. She was such a beautiful girl that the prince kissed her. By that time, a hundred years had passed by and everyone was waking up, one by one. The princess yawned and opened her eyes. She saw the prince and smiled. She asked him "Are you my prince?" He was happy to hear her speak. The prince and the princess fell in love with each other. The prince wanted to marry the princess so they went to ask for permission from their parents".

"That doesn't make sense", Emery commented, "Why would they fall in love with each other and get married that quickly if they only just met?".

"And he kissed her when she was sleeping", Faith highlighted, "He didn't have permission, which means there are some pretty big consent issues there".

Maura smiled at them both and nodded, "I agree with you both, I am not entirely sure what they were thinking when they wrote this".

"I preferred the Maleficent version", Faith said with a slight sigh, "At least they knew each other beforehand, and I know it was Maleficent that started the curse but she really did love Aurora".

"And it wasn't in an icky way", Grace said with a slightly scrunched up face.

"You should do that", Leona said suddenly.

"Do what sweetheart?", Maura asked with curiosity as she closed the fairytale book and placed it on the side. The book was a collection of fairy tales and she had been reading the stories to the children every night as they lay on Jane's hospital bed.

Leona started to sit up, removing her head from the comfort of the woman's chest where she could feel the movement of her breathing. She had begun to breathe on her own the day before but she was yet to awake from the coma despite the sleep medication being stopped almost twelve hours ago. "Kiss her", she said simply, "Kiss her like Prince Charming did to Snow White".

The woman bit her lip and looked down, "Leona", she began gently, "I'm sorry but that... that only works in fairy tales".

Instantly the child glared at her, "It works Mommy", she insisted, "It will work"

"It might work", Grace said as she watched her mother sleeping in the hospital bed, "and at least you knew each other before the kiss...and love each other too"

As she sat beside Grace, Emery nodded, "It's worth a try, isn't it? I bet Ma wouldn't mind".

Maura looked at the woman and sighed heavily before closing her eyes.

"You said you love her", Faith highlighted, "I heard you at the house and I've heard you hundreds of times since, and I know she loves you too". The thirteen-year-old looked at Maura before saying, "What can you lose when we know you want to kiss her anyways?".

"I would have preferred her to be awake for it", Dr Isles mumbled.

Faith smiled, "Then you have to wake her up".

She stood up beside the bed and reached out to cup the other woman's jaw, "I love you, Jane, so much", she whispered before leaning into her. Her lips met Jane's in a soft but loving kiss, holding her lips against hers with her eyes closed. Tears ran down Maura's cheeks as she gradually pulled her lips away and simply rested her forehead against Jane's, "Please wake up".

Gradually her eyelids fluttered open and as Maura pulled back, opening her eyes as she did so, she found herself looking into the eyes of the woman she had fallen in love with so many years ago. "Jane", she gasped.

"I told you it would work", Leona said proudly with a grin.

Jane looked over at her and with a croaky voice, she asked the child what had worked.

Leona smiled, "Prince Charming kissed Snow White to wake her up from the curse and so Mommy woke you up with a kiss too".

Lieutenant Rizzoli smirked, "My Prince Charming, huh?", she said as she looked at Maura who began to blush.

"No silly", the two-year-old responded as she shook her head as if the woman was being ridiculous, "She's a Queen".

"My Queen", Jane repeated as she remained looking into the hazel eyes of Maura Isles, "Does that mean I get another kiss?".

"You get as many as you want", she said with a bright and almost blinding smile, before leaning forward and kissing the woman carefully although it was not long before Jane deepened it and reached up slightly to pull her closer.

Faith smiled and covered Leona's eyes, looking at her siblings, she knew that everything would be okay because now? Now they could officially be a family, not that they weren't one before of course.

"Does this mean you're getting married now?", the child said with her eye still covered making the others in the room laugh.

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favourite list or to their alerts as well as to those who have taken the time to review.**

 **Sweetkid45 - Thank you! I am glad you think so! Thank you for your review.**

 **Sunshine - Thank you for taking the time to review. I am glad that you have enjoyed it.**

 **Boo - Thank you for leaving a review on this story, it definitely made me smile to awake to such positivity.**

 **Thank you for staying with me throughout this story, it has now come to an end, however, my next task is to work on chapter 41 of Jane's Story! Does anyone have any preferences what I should work on after chapter 41? Chapter 42 or an update to another of my stories?**


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